Carmel Valley

If summertime fog puts a cloud over the Monterey County coast, turn inland for diversions in sunny Carmel Valley. Just follow the locals who escape the seasonal sea mist by driving out Carmel Valley Road. Along that country highway you can taste wines, tour flower nurseries, play golf, go swimming, and drink and dine in roadhouses or stylish restaurants.

Ask a hard-pressed mom what she wants forMother's Dayand she's apt to say she'd like a break from chores. No cleaning, shopping, cooking, volunteering, driving or organizing. Herewith, a few luxurious getaways where moms will never be asked to do any of the above. (Moms, we suggest you leave this article in a strategic location.) Carmel Valley Ranch Carmel Valley Ranch takes great pains to cater to families and adults - separately. Although it is an ideal retreat for families, it is also one of the most serene places to go with friends or partners.

Despite threats of legal challenges and protests by coastal residents, the San Diego City Council voted 6-to-3 Tuesday to route through Carmel Valley a freeway linking Interstates 15 and 5. The vote on location of the western end of Route 56 Tuesday came after Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer, whose district includes the east-west freeway, came out in favor of the route adopted nearly two years ago.

Travel company SpaFinder is marking its 25th anniversary with special rates on high-end stays at several resorts in California, Mexico and the East Coast. The cost is pricey -- $2,500 for two -- but might appeal to those looking for a splurge with some savings. The drill: SpaFinder sells coupons for packages that travelers then redeem with the resort. Check coupon redemption and blackout dates and any other restrictions before you buy to make sure this deal will work for you. The deal: I chose to check out an upcoming $2,500 offer for Bernardus Lodge (415 W. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley; [831]

William W. Durney, 69, owner and chairman of the board of Durney Vineyard, a Carmel Valley winery noted for its award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon. Durney was the first successful wine-producing estate in the Carmel Valley area. The Durney vines yielded Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gamay Beaujolais and the Cabernet. About 15,000 cases are produced annually. In Pebble Beach on Friday of cancer.

Carmel Valley residents, concerned that money earmarked for parks and public improvements will be used to acquire property for a freeway they don't want, were assured Tuesday night that their fears are groundless.

At the top of the hill on Punta del Monte, just after Quien Sabe and before De Travesia, is Robles del Rio Lodge. Its name means oak by the river. It's been there since 1928, one of the first structures built in Carmel Valley. And it's having a revival. New proprietors, the Ron Gurrieses, have owned the Tickle Pink Inn in Carmel Highlands for years. Ron and his wife, Yolanda, brought firewood over this Saturday morning from their ranch in Gilroy.

Jan Stephenson shot a five-under-par 65 at Carmel Valley Ranch Saturday to take the third-round lead in the $250,000 Spalding Invitational golf tournament at Carmel Valley with a total of 12-under-par 201. Lennie Clements, the first-round leader with a 62, bounced back from a terrible 77 at Pebble Beach with a seven-under-par 63 to move into second place at 202. Tied for third at 203 were Johnny Miller (64), and Tim Norris, who shot a 62.

In a victory for coastal property owners, the San Diego City Council rescinded its earlier controversial decision to link a new east-west freeway to Interstate 5 at Carmel Valley. The council also unanimously approved an extension of the proposed highway, Route 56, in Rancho Penasquitos at its eastern link with Interstate 15.

I saw it in his eyes. He caught it in mine. It strikes every few months. That desire to go, go now, before we change our minds. Our usual remedy: to hit Highway 1 heading north, engine full throttle, for 325 miles. Our usual destination: a region John Steinbeck chronicled as "The Pastures of Heaven." Carmel Valley is our beloved hideout.

Funeral services for William A. Wilson, a Los Angeles businessman and a member of President Reagan's "kitchen cabinet" who was the first U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Holy Cross Cemetery, 5835 W. Slauson Ave., Culver City. Wilson, 95, died of cancer Saturday in Carmel Valley, Calif., where he had a home.

Blackstone Group, the buyout firm that owns Hilton Hotels Corp., sold a golf resort near Carmel to an investment firm led by John Pritzker for $20 million. Pritzker, the founding partner of San Francisco-based Geolo Capital and son of the late billionaire Hyatt Hotels founder Jay Pritzker, said his company would spend about $25 million to upgrade Carmel Valley Ranch during the next 18 to 24 months. The resort is spread over 400 acres, and Pritzker's plans include room renovations and a spa.

We wanted to let your readers know about a beautiful resort in Carmel Valley. It is called Quail Lodge, 10 minutes from Carmel. The resort is dog friendly. There are plenty of places to exercise outdoors, free of traffic, along with a beautiful golf course. Quail Lodge Resort & Golf Club, 8205 Valley Greens Drive, Carmel; (888) 828-8787, www.quaillodge.com Doubles from $169, pets $35 extra. Peter and Gerd Jordano Santa Barbara

THE plan was simple enough: Pick up my girlfriend, Katie, rent a vehicle that could withstand an infamously bumpy dirt road, and leave the busy, gritty, noisy cityscape behind. Growing up near Berkeley, I had long heard of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, a retreat in Carmel Valley's Ventana Wilderness as famous for its vegetarian cuisine as for its salve-for-all-ills hot springs.

In arty, educated, persnickety Carmel Valley, "we get out of bed looking for a fight," says one local politician. Well, they've got a doozy going right now, with plans to remove a group of disabled and frail people from the only homes they've known for decades spawning a political firestorm unusual even by local standards. Monterey County's housing board said it had no choice but to close the Rippling River public housing complex. The place is literally rotting from the inside out, it said.

I saw it in his eyes. He caught it in mine. It strikes every few months. That desire to go, go now, before we change our minds. Our usual remedy: to hit Highway 1 heading north, engine full throttle, for 325 miles. Our usual destination: a region John Steinbeck chronicled as "The Pastures of Heaven." Carmel Valley is our beloved hideout.

In arty, educated, persnickety Carmel Valley, "we get out of bed looking for a fight," says one local politician. Well, they've got a doozy going right now, with plans to remove a group of disabled and frail people from the only homes they've known for decades spawning a political firestorm unusual even by local standards. Monterey County's housing board said it had no choice but to close the Rippling River public housing complex. The place is literally rotting from the inside out, it said.

THE plan was simple enough: Pick up my girlfriend, Katie, rent a vehicle that could withstand an infamously bumpy dirt road, and leave the busy, gritty, noisy cityscape behind. Growing up near Berkeley, I had long heard of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, a retreat in Carmel Valley's Ventana Wilderness as famous for its vegetarian cuisine as for its salve-for-all-ills hot springs.

I'm often asked what a travel writer does to get away. This stumps me because I find it hard to go anywhere without writing a story, which tends to turn vacations into work. In November, though, I found my weekend escape in the Carmel Valley. It's a finger of land that runs deep into the Santa Lucia Mountains from the coast, about 325 miles north of L.A., but is visited by a fraction of the crowd in touristy Carmel.

Sure, the neighborhood looks calm enough at first glance: the rocky coast, the green hills, the gnarled cypresses, the happy couples murmuring in Italian, German and French, all those cute little storefronts. It's been more than a decade now since Clint Eastwood finished his two-year term as mayor, and it's quite easy to shuffle from bedroom to beach to boutique to bistro to beach to bedroom again, viewing this little corner of Earth as the very model of affluence and placidity.